The question if country radio will play Beyoncé has seemingly been answered
When Beyoncé released “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” last week, fans and insiders wondered if country songs from a Black pop star would get a cosign from the industry’s great gatekeeper, country radio. The answer appears to be “yes,” as “Texas Hold ‘Em” was the most added track on country stations this week, per Mediabase data reviewed by Country Insider.
As Country Insider noted, 75 of the 157 reporting stations around the country have committed to “Texas Hold ‘Em.” So far this year, the track has gotten the fourth-most adds on its radio impact date (the day radio programmers can add a single to rotation). Only country songs by Dan + Shay, Jelly Roll, and Tim McGraw had more adds on their impact date.
As “Texas Hold ‘Em” continues to swell, the figure to watch is where it lands on this week’s airplay charts. Beyoncé originally debuted at 54 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart last week, and at 50 on Mediabase.
The surge comes as Beyoncé made chart history this week, becoming the first Black woman artist in modern country music history to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, beating out Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ “I Remember Everything” in the process. The Hot Country Songs chart takes into account streaming as well as radio play.
The two Beyoncé singles represent the singer’s deepest foray into country music after flirting with the genre for much of her career. “Texas Hold ‘Em” in particular has been a streaming and sales smash, and sits at Number Two on both Spotify and Apple Music’s global and U.S. charts on Thursday. Last week the song garnered about 19 million U.S. streams total. “Texas Hold ‘Em” sold about 39,000 units as well, by far the most traditional sales for any song last week, according to data from Luminate.
“Texas Hold ‘Em” will likely repeat as the top country song on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart next week. It opened at Number Two on the Hot 100 this past week and is a strong contender to dethrone Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me” at Number One.